Lassoed!
by Wonderbat Erin
Summary: Diana tries to find out why Bruce is acting especially belligerent that day, and she accidentally squeezes out a very surprising - and pleasant - secret of his... My first OTP fanfic! :)


**So, here goes my first OTP fanfic. I'm sorry if I didn't characterise properly, but then again, it's my first one. I promise to do better in future!**

Superman splayed his hands on the tabletop and looked so earnest that she almost wanted to laugh. The Boy Scout, acting all serious as usual.

"There's been some trouble with a smuggling ring," he said. "Apparently, they've been giving the Metropolis police some trouble."

Batman spun his chair around to face him. "Metropolis. It's _your_ city," he said pointedly. "Isn't it only a simple smuggling ring? Why can't the great Superman handle it?"

Diana looked over at him, eyebrows raised. Why was Batman acting so uncooperative today? Usually he wouldn't be so unwilling to help.

Then when Clark glared furiously at him, she got her answer. "Look, Br... Batman, don't let our argument affect your decisions," he growled. "It isn't like you. Besides, this gang's different. It's got remarkable defenses I can't penetrate."

Batman stood, suddenly. "My decision's got nothing to do with the argument," he snarled. "Don't flatter yourself, Clark." Then he stormed out.

J'onn half-rose, but Diana stood up. "I'll talk to him," she said reassuringly, and left the room.

She found Batman not far away, walking determinedly towards the javelin bay, and so accosted him with a friendly hand on his shoulder. He whirled around, then his posture relaxed as he saw that it was only her. Evidently, he had been expecting someone like Clark, or J'onn - someone he could vent his anger on. But he had always treated Diana more gently, presumably because she was a woman. There was something to use to her advantage, she thought inwardly, with a secret mischievous smile.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "You flared up pretty badly just now. And what was that about an argument?"

He hesitated. "It was... nothing. Just a small disagreement. Clark places entirely too much blame on himself. For everything." Unfortunately, she had to agree, but that didn't mean that she hadn't noticed that he hadn't answered her first question. Remind her never to ask the Bat two questions at the same time.

"What's on your mind?" she asked, trying to probe further while trying to make it seem not-so-obvious. "Is it Gotham?"

He gave her a sideways glance which betrayed none of his real feelings. "Why would you say that?"

She shrugged, not really sure of the answer, and tried to figure out what had made Gotham come to mind when she had thought of Batman's troubles. "Well... It's the thing that matters most to you. Isn't it?"

He kept silent, obviously unwilling to say anything. She got a little exasperated, and decided to resort to last measures. "Look, Batman, I have a Lasso of Truth, and I'm not afraid to use it."

He gave her a funny little smile. "You wouldn't. Besides, even _you_ wouldn't want to see what's rattling around inside my brain."

She definitely wouldn't have dared to use the lasso on him before, but now... Oh well, she had never been one to take a dare lightly. Besides, he was just so insufferable - thinking that he knew so much about her that he could predict her every action. Well, she'd show him. With a deft flick of the wrist, she had him entwined with her lasso. His eyes widened - then narrowed. Apparently he had really thought that she wouldn't have dared to use the lasso on him. Gleeful that she had finally outsmarted the oh-so-clever Batman, Diana leaned closer.

She was going to enjoy this.

"First of all, tell me what's irking you," she said, using her most commanding tone of voice, although inside she was slightly suspicious at how easily it had been to ensnare him. She had never thought catching the Batman would have been so easy, but, oh well.

He shut his eyes and bit his lip (she could practically see his bottom lip being sucked in), trying to prevent himself from answering, but the truth slipped out. "Joker and Bane have banded together. It's going to take all I've got to take them down. I don't have the time to indulge in helping out with Superman's petty problems. Coming here for this stupid meeting was a risk anyway."

"Well, why didn't you say so earlier?" she said, with a smile. Of course, she had meant that to be a rhetorical question, but the lasso obviously took it to be literal, and he answered - albeit through gritted teeth - "I'm too proud. I didn't want to admit that I've got problems."

"Batman, everyone's got problems. You shouldn't have lashed out at Clark just because you were angry at yourself," Diana said gently, but in response to her kindly-meant words, he glared daggers at her. "Don't try to patronise me, or give me a psycho-analysis," he growled.

"If anyone needs a psycho-analysis, it's you," she muttered under her breath, deciding that she'd already wasted enough of her time on a pointless argument, and almost about to release him from the lasso, when she paused. There was one more question she needed to ask him...

Bending down low, so her mouth was next to his ear, she whispered, "What do you feel about me?"

The answers came pouring out readily enough, showing that he had obviously thought about the question a lot. Hmm, that might be good or bad, but she decided to look at it positively.

"Your naivete can be slightly exasperating. I feel like I have to protect you all the time. But still there's an untouched purity about you that makes me feel... Clean. Happy. You're a warrior... you don't hesitate when action is needed. Yet at the same time you have compassion... and that made me..." Here he jammed his head to his breast, evidently trying to restrain himself from saying anything else. But no truth could escape the grasp of the Lasso of Truth, and so the words came out:

"...fall in love with you."

There was a slow silence, then Diana sniffled. Tears started to form at the corners of her eyes, and started to drip down her cheeks in large globular drops. "Oh, Bruce," she sniffed, finally using his real name, "I didn't know you felt that way. God, I wish I could stop crying. I don't _cry_. But then again I've never felt so happy."

A handkerchief intruded into her field of vision, proffered by a black-clad hand. Still sniffing, she took the hanky and blew her nose softly. Then she wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed him. Hard.

Guess he wouldn't have to use the Lasso of Truth to see whether she loved him or not.

**Actually, I prefer to read fanfics, not write them (when it comes to my OTP at least) but I decided that I have to give back to the community and so here's my contribution!**


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